Buggy-top retainer.



No. 891,582. PATENTED JUNE 23, 1908 R. L. ALLISON.

BUGGY TOP RETAINER,

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 13, 1907.

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No. 891,582. PATENTED JUNE 23,1908. R: L. ALLISON.

BUGGY TOP RETAINER:

- APPLICATION FILED JUNE 13, 1907.

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BU'GGY-TOP RETAINER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 23, 1908.

Application filed June 13, 1907. Serial No. 378,781.

To all whom it may concern: MfBe it known that I, ROBERT L. ALLISON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Huckabay, in the county of Erath, State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bug y-Top Retainers and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same This invention relates to buggy top springs and more particularly to that class which are designed to hold the buggy top rigid when in lowered position. I have found that in traveling over rough roads, the buggy top when lowered is shaken from side to side and that as a consequence, the pivots for the bows soon become loosened and the top unsteady.

In carrying out my invention I rovide a rest or support for the rear bow of t 1e bugg top and a resilient retaining device which is designed for engagement with the front bow of the buggy to when the top is folded back, the purpose of t e spring retaining device being to revent vertical and lateral movement of the ows while driving over rough roads.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a ortion of a buggy and the top for the same s lowing the application of my invention, the top being shown folded back, Fig. 2 is a front elevation in detail of the device, the bows being shown in section,- Fig. 3 is a detail vertical transverse sectional view taken in a line with the support or rest for the rear bow of the top, Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing a slightly modified form of my invention, and, Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the modification removed from the buggy, one of the bows however being shown in dotted lines.

Referring more specifically to the drawings and more particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the device is shown as comprising a sleeve 10 provided with a bushing 11 through which is formed a squared bore 12 for the passage of the squared portion 13 of a bolt 14. Riveted or otherwise secured-upon the upper side of the sleeve 10 is a semi-cylindrical bow receiving member 16 which has a lining 17 preferably of rubber.

The buggy top comprises the usual bows 18, 19- and 20, the bow 18 being the front bow, the bow 19 the middle bow and 20'the rear bow, the latter being designed to seat in the support or rest 16 when the buggy top is folded back. In order to retain the bow 20 in this position and to hold the other bows 18 and 19 rigid, I have provided a bow retaining device which will now be described. The said device is formed of a single strand of resilient wire which is bent as at 21 to extend between the rest 16 and the sleeve 10 and around the rivet which secures the said rest to the sleeve. The wire is then coiled once upon itself as at 22 and extended laterally and upwardly from the said portion 21. The wire is then coiled several times as indicated by the numeral 24 and extended laterally in the direction of the plane occupied by the rest 16. At a point in a plane with the outer edge of the rest 16, the last named laterally bent portion of the wire is curved upwardly and thence downwardly as indicated at 25, the curve terminating in a vertical plane with the inner edge of the said rest. This curved portion 25 is designed for engagement with the front bow 18 of the buggy top when the top is folded and serves to'retain the top in its folded position and to hold all of the bows rigid.

The coil 22 serves to hold the retaining device out of the path of swinging movement of the bows but when the curved portion 25 of the said member is engaged with the rear bow 20, it is held in such engagement by the action'of the coils 24, it being understood of course that the curved portion 25 is substantially of hook formation and that when engaged with the bow 18, it will frictionally engage the same and a lateral pull will be exerted upon it and the laterally extending portion of the retaining member at the end of which it is formed by the coils 22.

In Fig. 2 of the drawings I have illustrated in dotted lines the position of the retaining member when disengaged from the bows.

From the foregoing description of my invention it will be understood that the bows comprising the buggy top are held against lateral movement by reason of the lateral pull exerted by the coils 22 as described above and that for the same reason the bows are held against vertical swinging movement consequently they are held rigid.

In the form of my invention shown in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings substantially the same construction is disclosed as in the figures above described and corresponding elements in the two forms are indicated by the same reference numerals but with the addition of the suflix a. In the modified form of the invention however the wire is not bent to form the same construction of curved portion 25 as previously described but is bent rearwardly as at 27 and is thence curved substantially in a semi-circle as indicated at 28 after which it is extended forwardly in a plane parallel to the portion 27 and is again curved as at 29 and thence extended rearwardly as at 30, the end of the portion 30 being terminated at the front end of the portion 2-7. As clearly shown the curved portions 28 and 29 extend substantially vertically or more specifically stated, at right angles to the portions 27 and and in parallel planes.

What is claimed, is

1. In a buggy top retaining device, the combination with a support and the bows of the buggy top, of a sleeve fixed upon the support, a rest fixed upon the sleeve and designed to support the rear bow of the buggy top when the same is folded, and a spring retaining device connected with the sleeve, the said device being formed of resilient wire and having a hooked end for frictional engagement with the foremost bow of the buggy top, the wire forming the device being coiled so as to exert a lateral pull upon the hooked end thereof when engaged with the said foremost bow of the buggy top.

2. In a buggy top retaining device, the combination with a support and the bows of the buggy top, of a sleeve fixed upon the support, a rest fixed upon the sleeve and designed to support the rear bow of the buggy top when the same is folded, and a spring retaining device connected with the sleeve, the said device being formed of resilient wire and having a hooked end for frictional engagement with the foremost bow of the buggy top, the wire forming the device being-coiled so as to exert a clamping action upon the bows when the hooked end is in engagement with the said foremost bow of the buggy top and to exert a tendency to hold the hooked end of the retaining device out of the path of swinging movement of the bowswhen disengaged therefrom.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

ROBT. L. ALLISON.

Witnesses:

J. B. NELoE, T. D. THOMASON. 

